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| Mommy |
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| Julianne Moore in Maps to the Stars |
Sunday’s awards ceremony on CBC also looks
to be the biggest and best so far as host Andrea Martin joins the most
impressive crop of presenters (including Oscar winner and CSA nominee Julianne
Moore and “24” star Kiefer Sutherland) to honour the strongest batch of films
that the Canadian Academy has recognized so far. It’s a worthy field of films
to encapsulate the strong year that Canada has had since Cannes. The duo of
Cannes winners Mommy and Maps to the Stars are the obvious
frontrunners while commercial hit Pompeii
should also have a big night for its impressive technical work.
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| Cast No Shadow |
The only significant blind spots in my
coverage are the Best Picture nominee Cast
No Shadow (a hit in the Maritimes and on the festival circuit) and Atom
Egoyan’s The Captive, which opened
theatrically during TIFF and was gone by the time I finished covering the
Ottawa International Animation Festival. It didn’t have an Ottawa sneak peek
and I just didn’t see the point in pursuing a screener from a publicist given
the film’s toxic reception at Cannes. The
Captive is bound to garner the most derision for its presence at Sunday’s
awards, but it’s not a surprise nominee thanks to Ryan Reynolds’ reportedly
strong performance and Atom Egoyan’s default status with the Academy. I think
I’ve actually seen more nominees across the dramatic, documentary, and shorts
categories in the Canadian kudos than I did during Oscar completism, and every
one of the films I’ve seen deserves to be here.
Predicting the awards is something entirely
else, since Canada (thankfully) doesn’t have the mania or campaign culture of
the Oscars. (The films rarely recoup their budgets, so why splurge on ads and
swag?) And we only have the Vancouver and Toronto film critics’ gongs to go on
as precursors, but they’re so full of contenders from last year’s awards that
they can’t be too reliable, although they show lots of love for five-time CSA
winner Enemy.
Let’s see which of said films could or should
win on Sunday night!
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| Mommy |
Best Film
This year’s show is all about Mommy, but any of the other nominees
could have enjoyed a clean sweep any other year. Mommy looks to be the sixth film to triumph at the Screenies after
a long award season push that began with its selection as Canada’s official
submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. It should have
gone all the way (or at least as far as nominees Incendies, Monsieur Lazhar,
and Rebelle did), but Sunday’s likely
Best Picture win should make things right.
Oddly enough, the pattern of seeing
Canada’s Oscar pick mirror Canada’s top film award stops with Mommy director Xavier Dolan’s first flirtation
with awards fame when his debut I Killed
My Mother was infamously shut out after being the most acclaimed and
high-profile Canadian film on the festival circuit that year. Canada has been
curiously reluctant to embrace the young director—I’ll admit that I’ve been
slow to warm to Dolan’s films myself—as Dolan’s amassed nothing but a win for
Best Costume Design for 2012’s Laurence
Anyways and even his few detractors must admit that he’s consistently
brought more attention to the Canadian film scene than any other contemporary
filmmaker, or he’s at least in the top tier with Sarah Polley, Denis
Villeneuve, and Jean-Marc Vallée, although the latter two have the advantage of
directing major American films to up their profiles. Dolan’s arguably due, and Mommy, his best film to date, is too big
a critical and commercial juggernaut to ignore. The film boasts nearly three
and a half million dollars in Canadian box office revenue alone, which is
doubly impressive given its emotionally exhausting length and unconventional
1:1 aspect ratio.
If any film has the chance to best Mommy, it’s probably Maps to the Stars from Canadian veteran
David Cronenberg. Maps marks
Cronenberg’s strongest Canadian film in over a decade, and its hearty crop of
eleven nominations (including a grand five for acting) make it a significant
competitor, even if the film hasn’t had nearly as much commercial or critical
success as Mommy has outside of the
attention brought by Julianne Moore’s sensational lead performance.
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| In Her Place |
The festival hits that round out the
category all seem less likely for a variety of reasons. Cast No Shadow, which, as mentioned above, is a hit in the
Maritimes and on the festival circuit, but it’s at a disadvantage as the only
nominee that hasn’t screened in almighty Toronto. Toronto, on the other hand, loves
Albert Shin’s excellent In Her Place,
which is a powerful and understated character drama. In Her Place has passionate fans in the critical community, whereas
Mommy and Maps bring a strange level of disdain from the loudest voices in
the Toronto film/Twitter troll world, but both Mommy and Maps have
defined the year for Canadian film scene after debuting to rave reviews at
Cannes (as did fellow nominee Tu dors
Nicole) and sustaining themselves throughout the season. Place is a dark horse, but there’s no denying
that Mommy is the movie of the
moment.
★Will Win: Mommy
★I’d vote for: Mommy
★Shoulda been there: Wet Bum
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| Will Dolan get what's due? |
Best Director
The
nominees: Atom Egoyan, The Captive; Albert Shin, In
Her Place; David Cronenberg, Maps to
the Stars; Xavier Dolan, Mommy; Stéphane
Lafleur, Tu dors Nicole.
The difference between Mommy and Maps is the
excitement of seeing an emerging filmmaker hit his stride or a seasoned master
returning to what he does best. Take your pick. Cronenberg has a whopping six
Best Director wins from the Academy, plus a Lifetime Achievement Award last
year, so it’s hard to compare the two filmmakers and make a case that Dolan
doesn’t receive the award on merit alone. Dolan’s long overdue and Cronenberg
could win if voters continue to resist new directors, which remains a notable
gap in the Academy’s history. However, Mommy’s
undeniable success (and Cannes endorsement) makes it far more attractive to
welcome him to the club, and the film truly feels like the culmination of a new
talent harnessing his skills to the best of his abilities while using the
medium to create a film that’s original and outside the box, yet bracingly
moving and freeing. It’s his undisputable entry into the hall of great Canadian
filmmakers and the history books should reflect that.
Shin and Lafleur, on the other hand, are
welcome additions to the field and can expect lots of love in the years to come
for their fine hands at drama and comedy, respectably. Egoyan, finally,
probably takes the nomination as an award (and perhaps vindication) in itself.
★Will Win: Xavier Dolan, Mommy
★I’d vote for: Xavier Dolan, Mommy
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| Anne Dorval in Mommy |
Best Actress
The nominees: Julianne Côté, Tu dors Nicole; Anne Dorval, Mommy;
Yoon Da Kyung, In Her Place; Ahn Ji
Hye, In Her Place; Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars.
Is this the strongest
Best Actress line-up we’ve ever had? I think so! It’s a testament to these
performances that great turns by Hadas Yaron (Felix and Meira), Susan
Sarandon (The Calling) and Marilyn
Castonguay (Miraculum) aren’t
present, and any one poses a worthy win. But let’s assume that the performers
from In Her Place will cancel
themselves out—Yoon Da Kyung gives the better and more dynamic performance as
the woman awaiting a new child, while the heartbreaking Ahn Ji Hye plays a far
more sympathetic character—and that Côté’s fine comedic turn as the titular
Nicole simply isn’t flashy enough to trump either of the two powerhouse
performances leading the pack. (The real star of Nicole is the script and the direction.) It’s a nice comedic turn,
but Moore’s batshit crazy performance in Maps
to the Stars works on a whole other level.
Part of me assumes
that Julianne Moore wouldn’t have been asked to present and join the party if
she weren’t taking home the prize, but Anne Dorval has the home field advantage
and a lot of love that’s been building in the Canadian film community since
Cannes. Moore’s Cannes win and her success for Still Alice probably work in Dorval’s
favour, too, since it’s hard to look at one actress and see that she’s been
widely recognized for her work while the other has not. Both performances are
excellent, and neither film would have the same power without them, so it’s a
tough call. I love, love, love Julianne Moore’s insane performance in Maps to the Stars, but Anne Dorval’s pure, raw, heartbreaking performance simply too
grand an event to ignore. Dorval is the life force of Mommy and her performance as Die is the best by any actor from any country in 2014. Moore’s had her turn on the podium, now Dorval gets hers.
★Will Win: Anne Dorval, Mommy
★I’d vote for: Anne Dorval, Mommy
★Shoulda been there: Marilyn Castonguay, Miraculum
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| Michael Murphy in Fall |
Best Actor
The
nominees: Evan Bird, Maps to the Stars; Bruce
Greenwood, Elephant Song; Michael
Murphy, Fall; Antoine Olivier Pilon, Mommy; Ryan Reynolds, The Captive.
This race is a tough call! Evan Bird nearly
steals the show from Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, and the rest of the
star-studded ensemble of Maps to the
Stars with his performance as a Justin Bieber-y spoiled actor. That’s an
award in itself for the fourteen-year-old actor, who certainly deserves this
nomination for his breakthrough work. (Despite some murmurings to the contrary,
it’s arguably the largest male role of the film.) Reynolds, on the other hand,
probably can’t overcome the hate for The
Captive no matter how good his performance is and won’t have the same benefit
of exposure as his fellow nominees.
Best Actor is probably a tight three-way
race between Mommy’s wild child
Antoine Olivier Pilon, Fall’s subtly
powerful Michael Murphy, and Elephant
Song’s resolute Bruce Greenwood. There’s no easy call to be had since Pilon’s
OCD performance as Steve could be seen as too histrionic for some viewers (but
that’s exactly the point…), while Murphy’s nuanced turn could be too invisible
for others. Greenwood, finally, appears in the weakest film in the bunch, and Elephant Song’s relatively poor showing
(it missed out on potential nominations for the performances by Xavier Dolan,
Catherine Keener, and Carrie-Anne Moss) probably doesn’t bode well for him. If
it comes down to the either of the newcomers and the veteran Murphy, Fall’s presence in the Best Film race is
largely due to his performance and suggests a great deal of support. Murphy masterfully
underplays his turn as Father Sam in Fall
and carries enough moral anguish to trump the showier work of his competitors. Fall has the disadvantage, though, of
having a small festival run and an even smaller run in theatres, so the quiet
power of Murphy’s performance can’t match the pace of Pilon’s larger-than-life
turn, which can afford to have a few detractors given the massive reach of the
film.
★Will Win: Antoine Olivier Pilon, Mommy
★I’d vote for: Michael Murphy, Fall
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| Suzanne Clémnt in Mommy |
Best Supporting Actress
The
nominees: Sandrine Bisson, 1987; Suzanne Clément, Mommy; Catherine St. Laurent, Tu
dors Nicole; Mia Wasikowska, Maps to
the Stars; Kil-Hae Yeon, In Her Place.
Can we talk about Suzanne Clément for a
minute? She should have won by a landslide for Laurence Anyways, but her sensational work was swept aside in the
curious landslide of ten wins for Rebelle
in 2013. I like Rebelle and all that,
but that year shows how much of an edge the Oscar submission tends to have on
the competition at the CSAs. (I mean, the film was shot outside and it won Best
Art Direction!) Anyways, Clément benefits from being in the one film that most
Screenie voters probably saw this year and while her terrific work in Mommy isn’t quite the same jaw-dropper
of a performance that Laurence Anyways is,
she’s still the standout in this strong category by a mile. She deserves this
for her shattering turn as Kyla, whose insecurity and stuttering could have
been fatal caricature in less talented hands. (Her powerful cameo in Fall is bound to be good for a few
votes, too.) A good case can be made for most of the other nominees: Sandrine
Bisson (a hoot!) and Catherine St. Laurent (likable) are great comedic
presences, while Mia Wasikowska (excellent) and Kil-Hae Yeon (devastating) give
their films strong finishes that could keep them fresh in the minds of voters.
There’s no comparing, though: Clément easily has this. She should, anyways.
★Will Win: Suzanne Clément, Mommy
★I’d vote for: Suzanne Clément, Mommy
★Shoulda been there: Anne Dorval, Miraculum
Best Supporting Actor
The
nominees: Justin Chatwin, Bang Bang Baby; John Cusack, Maps
to the Stars; Kris Demeanor, The
Valley Below; Marc-André Grondin, Maps
to the Stars; Robert Pattinson, Maps
to the Stars.
I’ll admit that this category surprises me
a bit. Xavier Dolan could have added two nominations to his tally with Miraculum and Elephant Song, but nobody saw Miraculum
and Bruce Greenwood outshines him in Elephant
so Dolan just has to content himself with a quintet of nominations for his work
on Mommy. Stephen McHattie’s absence
for Meetings with a Young Poet is
also curious since the little-seen film managed five nominations in the crafts
and technical categories, but not in the acting department even though his
performance is the best thing about the film. Justin Chatwin’s Bang Bang Baby (one of the few nominees
that I haven’t seen) still carries labels like ‘polarizing,’ ‘divisive,’ and
‘love-it-or-hate-it’ following its TIFF premiere, so he’s a mild surprise here
even though director Jeffrey St. Jules was named the winner of the Claude Jutra
award for Most Promising Filmmaker. Reviews for both Chatwin and Jane Levy are
top notch, though, as is praise for the film’s originality of vision.
Kris Demeanor is also another surprise here
for his performance in The Valley Below,
which flew under the radar with some strong word of mouth at TIFF. Having just
caught the film, I can say that Demeanor’s powerful turn as a man battling the
demons of alcoholism is definitely worthy of recognition. (Check back for a
full review of The Valley Below next
week.) The actor and former poet laureate from Calgary is a standout in a great
ensemble that might have better deserved a pair of Supporting Actor nominations
since co-star Stephen Bogaert is equally worthy for his performance as a
taxidermist in the midst of an existential crisis. The Valley Below, like In Her
Place, is one of the most pleasant surprises among the nominees: Demeanor’s
a dark horse for sure.
It’s hard to compete, though, with the pair
of major star wattage in this category thanks to Maps to the Stars. The Cronenberg film boasts a pair of nominations
for John Cusack and Robert Pattinson, but, unlike the Best Actress nominees for
In Her Place, I doubt the Maps men are at risk for cancelling each
other out since their film is the only contender here with an especially wide
reach. Cusack has the bigger and showier role, but Robert Pattinson is stronger
in his brief performance as a chauffeur with dreams of making it big. Their
biggest competition is Marc-André Grondin, whose fun performance in Tu Dors Nicole jives perfectly with
Stéphane Lafleur’s deadpan direction and could bring the film its only prize of
the night.
★Will Win: John Cusack, Maps to the Stars
★I’d vote for: Robert Pattinson, Maps to the Stars
★Shoulda been there: Stephen McHattie, Meetings with a Young Poet; Stephen
Bogaert, The Valley Below; Julien
Poulin, Miraculum.
The rest of the contenders
Best Original Screenplay:
The Captive, Atom Egoyan, David Fraser
In Her Place, Albert Shin, Pearl Ball-Harding
Maps to the Stars, Bruce Wagner
Mommy, Xavier Dolan
Tu Dors Nicole, Stéphane Lafleur
★Will Win: Mommy
★I’d vote for: Maps to the Stars
★Shoulda been there: Wet Bum
Best Documentary Feature:
★Will Win: Fermières
★I’d vote for: Guidelines
★Shoulda been there: I'll admit that this category doesn't really reflect what a strong year it was for Canadian documentaries. I'd swap in Everything Will Be and The Wanted 18, and where are Monsoon and Trick or Treaty?
Achievement in Cinematography for a Theatrical Documentary
Everything Will BeFermieres
Guidelines
The Sower
★Will Win: Guidelines
★I’d vote for: Everything Will Be
★Shoulda been there: MonsoonAchievement in Editing for a Feature Length Documentary:
AltmanFermieres
Guidelines
Marinoni
Super Duper Alice Cooper
★Will Win: Super Duper Alice Cooper
★I’d vote for: Super
★Shoulda been there: Trick or Treaty?Best Animated Short:
Soif
★Will Win: Me and My Moulton
★I’d vote for: Moulton (although I love Day 40 and Migration too)
★Shoulda been there: The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer
Best Short Documentary:
The Chaperone 3D
Jutra
Jutra
★Will Win: Seth's Dominion
★I’d vote for: Jutra
Best Live Action Short:
The CutHole
Petit Frère
Sleeping Giant
Suivre la piste du renard
★Will Win: Sleeping Giant
★I’d vote for: Haven't seen enough to say
★Shoulda been there: Zero Recognition
Achievement in Art Direction / Production Design
Phillip Barker - The CaptiveXavier Georges - Cast No Shadow
William Layton - Fall
Colombe Raby - Mommy
Paul Austerberry, Nigel Churcher - Pompeii
★Will Win: Pompeii
★I’d vote for: Pompeii
Achievement in Costume Design
Valérie Levesque - 1987Francesca Chamberland - Henri Henri
Xavier Dolan - Mommy
Wendy Partridge - Pompeii
Sarah Dunsworth - Trailer Park Boys - Don't Legalize It
★Will Win: Pompeii
★I’d vote for: Pompeii
Achievement in Cinematography
Norayr Kasper - FallMathieu Laverdière - Henri Henri
Luc Montpellier - It Was You Charlie
Michel La Veaux - Meetings with a Young Poet
André Turpin - Mommy
★Will Win: Mommy
★I’d vote for: Mommy
★Shoulda been there: Maps to the Stars, Wet Bum
Achievement in Editing
Sponsor | Commanditaire | The PostMan Post-Production StudiosGreg Ng – Afflicted
Arthur Tarnowski - Henri Henri
Albert Shin - In Her Place
Ron Sanders - Maps to the Stars
Xavier Dolan - Mommy
★Will Win: Mommy
★I’d vote for: Mommy
Achievement in Make-Up
Sponsor | Commanditaire | M●A●C CosmeticsVirginie Boudreau - 1987
Lizane Lasalle - Henri Henri
Colleen Quinton - Meetings with a Young Poet
Maina Militza - Mommy
Amanda O'Leary - Trailer Park Boys - Don't Legalize It
★Will Win: Mommy
★I’d vote for: 1987
★Shoulda been there: Maps to the Stars
Achievement in Music - Original Score
Jeffrey Morrow - Cast No ShadowDan Mangan, Jesse Zubot - Hector and the Search for Happiness
Patrick Lavoie - Henri Henri
Howard Shore - Maps to the Stars
Patrice Dubuc, Gaetan Gravel - Meetings with a Young Poet
★Will Win: Maps to the Stars
★I’d vote for: Maps to the Stars
★Shoulda been there: Wet Bum, The Valley Below
Achievement in Music - Original Song
Sponsor | Commanditaire | Slaight MusicIan LeFeuvre - Dirty Singles – “The Whisper in Me”
Manjeet Ral - Dr. Cabbie – “Dal Makhani”
Lewis Furey - Love Project – “Road to Rainbow’s End”
Patric Caird, Sonya Cote - Tru Love – “Danse Elegant”
Dan Mangan - The Valley Below – “Wants”
--> Listen to all the nominees here!
★Will Win:"Wants"
★I’d vote for: "Wants"?
★Shoulda been there: Stage Fright
Achievement in Overall Sound
Sponsor | Commanditaire | Deluxe TorontoChristopher Guglick, Dave Mercel, Steve Moore, Justin Sawyer, Alex Turner - Bang Bang Baby
Christian Cooke, Michael O'Farrell, Orest Sushko - Maps to the Stars
Daniel Bisson, Gilles Corbeil, Bernard Gariépy Strobl - Meetings with a Young Poet
Sylvain Brassard, Jocelyn Caron, François Grenon, Luc Landry - Mommy
Greg Chapman, Peter Persaud, Andrew Stirk, Andrew Tay, Mark Zsifkovits - Pompeii
★Will Win: Pompeii
★I’d vote for: MommyAchievement in Sound Editing
Sponsor | Commanditaire | IMAX CorporationElma Bello - Fall
Christian Rivest - Henri Henri
Raymond Legault, Simon Meilleur, Martin Pinsonnault, Claire Pochon - Meetings with a Young Poet
Sylvain Brassard, Benoît Dame, Isabelle Favreau, Guy Francoeur - Mommy
Steve Baine, Kevin Banks, Stephen Barden, Fred Brennan, Alex Bullick, J.R. Fountain, Kevin Howard, Jill Purdy - Pompeii
★Will Win: Pompeii
★I’d vote for: PompeiiAchievement in Visual Effects
Jason Dowdeswell, Neil Eskuri, Patti Gannon, Ivan Hayden, Neil Impey, Zach Lipovsky, James Rorick, Adele Venables - AfflictedKeith Acheson, Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess, Naomi Foakes, Jo Hughes, Chris MacLean, Mohsen Mousavi, Scott Riopelle, Andy Robinson, Eric Robinson –Pompeii
Ian Britton, Robert Crowther, Steve Elliott, Oleksiy Golovchenko, Matt Philip, Jiang Shuming, Jay Stanners, Rob Tasker, Perunika Yorgova, Lexi Young - Wet Bum
★Will Win: Pompeii
★I’d vote for: Pompeii (sorry, Wet Bum!)What are your #CdnScreen15 picks?
The Canadian Screen Awards air on CBC Sunday, March 1 at 8:00pm
